James Gleason

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James Austin Gleason (born May 23, 1882 in New York City , New York - † April 12, 1959 in Los Angeles , California ) was an American actor, playwright and screenwriter. The successful supporting actor was particularly specialized in the depiction of seemingly hardened characters with a soft core.

Life

James Gleason played in various theater companies during his holidays as a child. At the age of 13 he earned his living doing small jobs such as a delivery boy, printer's assistant, lift boy and as a temporary worker in an electrical goods store. At the age of 16, Gleason joined the United States Army and served three years in the Philippines . He then began his professional acting career at the theater, including a guest appearance in London for two years . He starred in 15 productions on Broadway in his hometown of New York between 1914 and 1928. Together with Robert Armstrong , Gleason also had his own radio sitcom called Gleason and Armstrong in the early 1930s . The character actor came to Hollywood towards the end of the silent film era, when he was already in middle age. His first film was The Count of Ten (1927) at Universal Studios . Gleason, who had also worked as a playwright in the theater , was one of the screenwriters of the musical film The Broadway Melody (1929), which won the Oscar for best picture at the second Academy Awards . He also made a minor cameo on The Broadway Melody . He also co-wrote the 1934 drama Change of Heart, starring Janet Gaynor .

The gaunt, bald-headed Gleason with a gruff voice was primarily specialized in serious and tough characters with a warm and lovable core. An example of this was the role of a cynical editor-in-chief in Frank Capra's Here Is John Doe (1941), who dismisses numerous employees and works for a very wealthy entrepreneur with dictatorial intentions, but at the end of the film shows his human side and is disgusted by his boss's plans tells. Another hallmark of his characters was the New York background. In the six-part crime series about the detective Hildegarde Withers, he stood by the detectives as police inspector Oscar Piper. He also played the role of the authoritarian police commissioner in many other films, for example at the end of Capra's classic comedy Arsen and Lace Cap from 1944. A year later he played a milk truck driver on vacation for love , which the main characters Judy Garland and Robert Walker in matters Marriage instructs.

On vacation for love , his film wife was his actual wife Lucile Gleason (1888-1947), with whom he was married from 1905 until her death. Her son was the actor Russell Gleason , who died in 1945 under unexplained circumstances in a fall from a building. In the late 1930s, the acting family had their own little film series about the Higgins Family . James played the family patriach Joe Higgins, Lucile his wife and Russell his son. One of Gleason's other successes was the portrayal of a boxing manager on vacation from heaven , for which he was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 1941 . In the 1950s, Gleason was increasingly seen in guest roles on television. In 1955 he played the role of Birdie Steptoe in Charles Laughton's legendary, only directing Night of the Hunter at the side of Robert Mitchum , Shelley Winters and Lillian Gish . Gleason's role was an old, adorable-quirky widower who cannot help two children threatened by Robert Mitchum's character in the film because he has drowned his grief in alcohol. He gave his farewell performance a year before his death alongside Spencer Tracy in The Last Hurray . In total, he made over 160 film and television appearances.

James Gleason died of asthma in 1959 at the age of 76 and was buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City , California .

Filmography (selection)

Web links

Commons : James Gleason  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Biography by Rotten Tomatoes Character actor James Gleason usually played tough-talking, world-weary guys with a secret heart-of-gold.
  2. ↑ James Gleason in the Internet Broadway Database (English)
personal data
SURNAME Gleason, James
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gleason, James Austin (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American actor, playwright, and screenwriter
DATE OF BIRTH May 23, 1882
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City , New York , USA
DATE OF DEATH April 12, 1959
Place of death Los Angeles , California , USA